Helpdesk Structure and Responsibilities

Tier 1

The first points of contact for queries from the community are the National Gemini
Offices (NGOs). Requests submitted via the HelpDesk are routed to the appropriate NGO,
using the country selected by the user when they first register, and to an individual or
group within the NGO according to the subject. Registered users can change their contact
details.

Few, if any, of the NGOs will have the resources or expertise to respond to queries in
all areas in depth. In such cases the query is escalated by the NGO support staff up to
the second tier.

Tier 2

The second tier is organised purely by category and sub-category. The full list of categories indicates the assignment, either to an
NGO or Gemini. The assignment for tier-2 support is to the partner that is/was primarily
responsible for providing that instrument or capability:

The Gemini Observatory is responsible for tier-2 support in all other categories. As an
example, the responsibility for responding to tier-2 queries from the entire Gemini
community regarding GMOS rests with Canada.

If the tier-2 support shown in the table above is unable to answer the query then it is
escalated to the third tier.

Tier 3

The responsibility for tier-3 support in all categories lies with the Gemini
Observatory.